


The Last Hope

by ComatoseButAudible



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canonverse AU, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Reylo - Freeform, The Rise of Skywalker AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:00:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21906367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComatoseButAudible/pseuds/ComatoseButAudible
Summary: I said I’d never write fanfic again, but JarJar Abrams decided to write and direct literally the worst movie ever, I couldn’t let the insult stand. So here is my take on The Rise of Skywalker
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Kaydel Ko Connix/Jannah, Kylo Ren/Rey, Poe Dameron/Finn, Poe Dameron/Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 7
Kudos: 33





	1. Prologue/Opening Crawl

Star Wars: Episode IX  
The Last Hope

It is a dark time for The Resistance. Leader General Leia Organa’s health is failing and what remains of the Resistance is scattered in an attempt to drum up support for their cause. 

Meanwhile Jedi Rey is keeping a secret from the rest of the Resistance. Despite her attempt to sever her bond with Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, the bond remains firmly in place and neither are able to control the bond, prompting Rey to distance herself from the Resistance. 

The bond is not the only problem Supreme Leader Ren is facing. A small coalition of First Order led by General Hux are questioning his leadership and methods, creating discord in the First Order even as the Galaxy starts to support Supreme Leader Ren. 

But even as civil war brews in the First Order, something even darker and more sinister is brewing at the edges of the galaxy, threatening to destroy everything...


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey receives a visit from the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future...wait, wrong story, but...

Chapter One

The pieces were scattered across the desk. Two halves of a kyber crystal, the severed casing of the saber hilt, pieces of wiring and screws. The lightsaber that once called to her, and answered her call, now lay broken before her. Much like the bond she had formed with Ben Solo. 

Her chest tightened at the thought of him. Weeks had passed since the last time she had seen him on Crait. The way he looked up at her, desolate inspite of his victory, holding a pair of gold dice in his gloved hand, haunted her dreams. He had cut her deeper than anyone ever had, leaving a wound that could not be seen, only felt. And it hurt, worse than any physical injury she ever had. But at the same time, she was angry. 

This was not who he was meant to be. He was not meant to be Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order. He was meant to be Ben Solo, Jedi Knight of the Resistance. Her partner. Her future. Hers. She had seen it, she had seen everything. Their future together, their union, their children. 

And he threw it all away. He threw _her_ away. Just like her parents had. Just like _garbage_. 

Rey’s arm swept across the desk in a moment of anger, sending the remnants of the saber to the floor. Her eyes blurred, tears threatening to spill over. The frustration and hurt were just becoming too much. She buried her face in her hands, the heels pressing into her eyes. 

“I’m never going to be able to fix it,” she said miserably. The Resistance was relying on her and she was letting them down. 

“Not when you throw it on the ground like that,” a deep, unfamiliar voice said. 

Rey’s hand automatically went to her staff as she whirled around, ready to defend herself against the person who had snuck up on her. She stopped when her eyes landed on the blue illuminated man standing just inside the doorway. 

“Who are you and what are you doing in my chambers?” She asked, her eyes narrowing as she leveled a look at him. 

A lock of hair fell across his face as he gave her a smile that seemed both familiar and foreign. “I’m...a friend,” the man offered. 

“I have never seen you before so you’re not much of a friend,” she countered. 

“I am here to help you.”

“I don’t need your help.”

A brow lifted and his eyes slid to the broken saber scattered on the floor between them. “My mistake. I’m sure that saber will perform well in battle.”

His back turned as if to leave the room. Rey’s eyes narrowed and she was overcome with the urge to hit him with her staff. “And what do you know about lightsabers?”

The man turned back to her, his smile widening to reveal a dimple. “Nothing at all, I’ve only built a couple. But I’m sure you know _exactly_ what you’re doing. Take care, Rey.”

“Would you just stop?” She asked, frustration in her voice. “And how do you know my name?”

“I know quite a bit about you, Rey of Jakku. I know you need help rebuilding the saber. And I know there is only one person besides myself that could help you rebuild the saber, but you refuse to reach out to him.”

“Kylo sent you,” she hissed, her hand clenching the staff tighter. “You’re one of his Knights.”

The other man surprised her by laughing. “No and no.”

“Then who?”

“I told you, I’m a friend. I am not here to harm you. I’m here to help you fix the saber.”

She lowered her weapon slightly. “Why do you want to help me?” 

“Because you need a saber. And a teacher.”

“No thanks. I don’t need a teacher, they don’t work out for me.”

“Luke?” He asked with a raised brow. “Luke is not a teacher. He was barely taught himself.”

“And you’re better qualified?” She did not bother to hide the disbelief in her voice. 

The man’s smile faltered for a moment, but he nodded. “I am. There is no one more qualified to teach you the ways of the Jedi and the balance between the light and dark sides of the Force. But you’d need to trust me.”

Rey’s lips pursed as she gave him an appraising look. “How can I trust you when you won’t even tell me your name?”

There was a long pause and Rey watched an array of emotions play across his features. He looked so familiar to her, but she was unable to place why. It was as if the recognition was just at the edge of her thoughts, but when she would try to focus on it, it would slip away. 

“You can call me Anakin,” he said, his voice so soft for a moment, she thought she had imagined it. 

Before Rey could respond, there was a knock at her door. She watched as Anakin faded away only to be replaced by Finn. 

“Is everything alright? I heard something fall,” he asked. 

“Everything is fine. The saber just fell,” Rey lied, gesturing to the pieces scattered on the floor. 

“Oh...” his voice trailed off and Rey knew her best friend well enough to know he wanted to talk about more than the saber. She watched the debate play across his features before he spoke. “I’m going on another mission with Poe.”

“Really? Where to this time?” She smiled at him. 

“I can’t say yet. Only Poe knows. I can’t even tell Rose,” he frowned. 

“It’s probably safer that way,” Rey said. 

“I know. It’s just...Rose has a bad feeling about this mission. She doesn’t think I should go, but I want to help Poe and we make a great team.”

“Rose will understand, Finn. She cares about you and is just worried about you. How long will you be gone this time?”

“We don’t know. A couple months, maybe. Deep cover. If this goes bad, it’s just Poe and me. There’s no backup. The Resistance won’t be able to help us.”

Rey stood and walked over to Finn, placing a hand on his shoulder. “There’s me. If it goes bad, I will do everything I can to help you, Finn.”

He smiled down at her before pulling her into a hug. “Thank you, Rey,” he said softly before releasing her. “Can you...can you look after Rose?”

“Of course. She won’t be alone. When do you leave?”

Finn’s smile turned sheepish. “After I leave here. Poe is readying the ship and saying goodbye to BB-8.”

“He’s not taking BB?” Rey’s brows lifted in surprise. 

“It’s too dangerous. BB is too easy to identify.”

“Then good luck, my friend. May the Force be with you,” Rey said, giving Finn one last hug. 

Walking out the door, Finn looked back and gave her one last smile before disappearing down the corridor. Rey picked up the scattered pieces of the saber, returning them to the box in her desk drawer. 

As she slid the drawer shut, the room went eerily silent, the buzz of the small resistance camp fading away. She felt a prickle between her shoulder blades. The bond. 

“No, no, no,” she whispered softly. 

“Hello to you too,” Ben said, his voice sounding both nearby and far off. 

Rey’s hands clenched into fists as she whirled around. Her breath caught as their eyes met. Snow was falling in his hair, melting to make his dark hair wet. His cheeks and nose were tinted pink, but his skin was pale, as if wherever he was was cold. 

“What do you want?” Rey snapped. 

“You know I cannot control this anymore than you can,” he said, the corner of his lips lifting into the ghost of a smile. 

“I have nothing to say to you, _Kylo Ren_.”

“That’s Supreme Leader Kylo Ren,” he corrected her. “You used to call me Ben.”

“That was before.”

“Nothing has changed. Join me.”

“ _Everything_ has changed. I will not join the First Order.”

“I never said to join the First Order, Rey. Join me. The First Order, the Resistance, the Jedi, the Sith. Let’s leave it all behind. Join me.”

His face looked so earnest that for a moment her resolve faltered. She wanted to join him, she wanted to be with him. Even after he hurt her. But the moment passed and she shook her head. 

“No. I can’t leave them. I can’t leave _your mother_.”

Kylo took a step towards her, the expression on his face shifting to something that almost looked hopeful. “My mother...is alive?”

Her brows drew together. “Of course your mother is alive. She survived the attack you launched on her ship.”

“I did not shoot the bridge,” he blurted out. “I tried to stop them, but I was too late. I-I felt her presence and it distracted me. She lived? How?”

“She does not talk about it. All Leia told me was she used the Force at great cost to herself,” Rey said, trying to hide her surprise to his reaction. 

He seemed shaken in a way she had only seen him once before, on Starkiller Base when she pushed back, seeing into his mind as he tried to read hers. 

“Is she-“ His words cut off as he turned to something she could not see. Kylo glanced back at her, then the bond closed. 

Rey’s hand went to her abdomen and she exhaled sharply. This exchange left her even more confused than before. If he did not know his mother was alive, that means he did not know that she was on a transport or at the base on Crait. Would that knowledge change what happened in Snoke’s throne room?

She pushed those thoughts away. It was not something she could not think about now. Rey closed the door to her room, walking down to wave Finn and Poe off. She needed the distraction that would bring. If nothing else, it would get her mind off Kylo.


End file.
